Majority of Women in UK Do Not Bathe

By Patrick Luganda, Kampala Uganda
Water is a great asset that we often take for granted. In the tropics lack of water is a great discomfort especially for women who need it to wash and keep clean at all times.

Ms Masitula Nakamya in Kampala Uganda says that she bathes at least two times a day and adds an additional 'mini' wash of her private parts in the middle of the day. She says that not washing would make her uncomfortable and the tropical heat would cause her to have a bad odour.

What about using perfumes and deodorants to neutralize the bad body adour, I ask

"The use of deodorants without washing can be detected by those around you, " says Nalwoga Eunice at Namanve along Jinja road.

Several women interviewed in Uganda said that washing is a must for the African women and they all said that failure to bathe is a sign of distress. Even where water is urgently needed for cooking, drinking and watering livestock, the women will find enough water to bathe, they said.

Four thousand miles away in the United Kingdom, the former colonial master of Uganda where all women find not bathing a taboo, women in the highly developed society of the UK do not want to bathe. They dodge the bathing ritual for a variety of seemingly flimsy reasons.

A report appearing in the Independent , a respected UK paper, says the majority of women in the UK don’t bathe or take a shower each day because they are too tired, new research has revealed.

The survey also showed that as many as one in three women admitted that they had gone as long as three days without washing or wiping their face or body at all.

Some 57 per cent of women acknowledged the importance of hygiene, but said that they didn't have the time to shower or bathe before bed, and instead opted to freshen up with wipes.

The survey of over 2,000 females by skin care range Flint + Flint also showed that over 60 per cent of women did not remove their makeup before bed after a night out, with 35 per cent of those saying they were worried about getting enough sleep.

Asked whether they washed in the morning, only a fifth of women said they took a shower or bath every day, with over 30 percent revealing they did not wash for three days at time.

However, 92 per cent of participants said they understood the importance of a skin care regime and recognised that life-style factors such as lack of sleep and dehydration can impact the appearance of their skin.

Almost 90 per cent of women surveyed said they didn’t improve their hygiene because they were too tired in the morning or evening.

The NHS advises that to maintain a basic level of hygiene, a person must wash their face and brush their teeth daily; clean their hands after using the toilet; wash their genital and anal area each day; and fully bath or shower at least twice a week.

Flint + Flint owner Maxine Flint said the company was "alarmed" by the survey.

“We were alarmed to hear about the amount of women not looking after their skin by following basic skin care regimes. It is so important to clean your face daily and moisturize to slow down the aging process.”